Reading aloud improves memory
Improving the quality of human memory remains one of the main challenges of the scientific community in the 21st century. A number of world research centers are engaged in this task by joint efforts of biologists, physiologists, mathematicians and representatives of other sciences.
The team of scientists of the Canadian University of Waterloo have offered their response. Their study has showed that reading aloud significantly improves memory. The fact that speech and hearing have a double effect on memory and favorably tell on both the speed of remembering information and its getting into the zone of long-term memory.
“This study confirms that learning and memory benefit from active involvement. When we add an active measure or a production element to a word, that word becomes more distinct in long-term memory, and hence more memorable", said Colin M. MacLeod, a professor and chair of the Department of Psychology at Waterloo, who co-authored the study.
In the practical part of the survey, 95 volunteers took part. They were asked to memorize a text. For this purpose, they were divided into four groups. The first one read the text silently, others listened to the recording, the third heard someone else read and the fourth group read aloud.
The latter showed the most successful result. The researchers have explained this by the fact that a human being remembers better the sounds of own voice and makes the information self-referential.
According to McLeod, in real life this study can be useful for elders, often facing the memory loss problem.
Reading aloud is also recommended to students and schoolchildren in learning process.
Linking the action to the word and regular practice of reading aloud will eventually enhance the brain's ability to accumulate and preserve information.
